Palm Drive, A Tale of Two Doctors

A Tale of Two Doctors

Doctor One

A small hospital was interested in expanding their surgical services and attract more patient. It was said that patients from across the United States would come to that hospital to have their surgery by the doctor, who was interested in coming to Sonoma County. He visited the little hospital and drew up a list of demands. The hospital set to work. It refurbished the entry foyer, the cafeteria and turned a few double bed occupancy rooms into private rooms. It drew up a contract which included a guaranteed income, as a loan, for the doctor exceeding $40,000 per month. Expectations were high, because the little hospital was having a hard time making ends meet.

Time went by, and the increase in surgeries never fully materialized. Eventually, the little hospital closed its doors and wrote off the $750,000 that it had loaned to the doctor.

Doctor Two

There was a very kind and hard-working doctor who practiced in a small town for many years. When his patients needed lab work, x-rays, or a hospital bed, he sent them to the small hospital next door. He met the other doctors there and relaxed in the private lounge.

He was also very smart about money. He created a business that contracted with the hospital to provide medical services. He invested in property next door to the hospital where medical offices where built.

When the little hospital closed, it was a huge disappointment and a hit to his pocketbook. He worried. Would he slowly lose his patients? Would he lose income from his investments?

He gladly joined the efforts of others, who also had suffered financially, to reopen the hospital. He became a candidate for a position on the hospital board that was trying to decide the fate of the hospital. He won a seat on the board and was committed to reopening the hospital.

The End

When Palm Drive declared bankruptcy and closed in April, the hospital's employees, vendors, contractors, local businesses and physicians were all hurt in the pocketbook. Some will recover all of their losses at the end of the bankruptcy process. But many will only restore their income and protect their investments if a full-service hospital reopens.